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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25279474">mens rea</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelanterncity/pseuds/thelanterncity'>thelanterncity</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Red Velvet (K-pop Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Drabble, F/F, Mentions of Death and Violence, blood mentions, dark themes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:08:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>273</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25279474</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelanterncity/pseuds/thelanterncity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>guilty mind</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bae Joohyun | Irene/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>mens rea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>implied serial killer/investigator au based off of nbc's hannibal, a dash of killing eve, and the monster comeback. hope you like it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="">
  <p>By the time it appears, a year has passed. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A white envelope. A blackbird stamp in the right corner. No return address. No markings -- only your address printed in the center. Joohyun’s handwriting. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Your fingers drift toward your sternum, tracing the outline of a scar beneath your shirt. You can still taste the blood in your mouth, feel her brush your hair from your face, feel her cradle your chin in her hand, hear her voice as she sticks a knife into your chest. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She’s dangerous. She’s a manipulator, a murderer. But when you think of her, it’s not the death you think of, not the bodies nor the pain. It’s soft hands, a soft voice, and brown eyes that peer into you like they see the truth. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The letter within is short. You commit the words to memory, scan the paper for hints, anything to tell you where she is, and find nothing. Of course; Joohyun doesn’t want to be found, not yet.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The challenge she’s presented is not lost to you. <em>Do your job: submit it into evidence. Help them catch me. Do the right thing. Or don’t. </em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Or don’t. </em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The decision is immediate, instinctual. It’s upsetting in how easy it is.  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <hr/>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Tell me: is running away always this dull? Exhausting? I’m finding it so, especially without the right company. </em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>I do hope you have healed well.</em>
  </p>
  <hr/>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The ash remnants of her message sit at the bottom of a paper waste bin. You take out the trash, open the windows, reactivate the alarms, shower the smell of smoke off your body. And for the first time since that night, you cry. </p>
</div>
  </div></div>
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